Typically, these dragons can grow to around 2-3 feet with the females staying a little smaller than the males. Australian water dragons are normally grey colour in colour with a black and yellow stripe by the eye and black bands running the along the spine.
They are strong swimmers and, if necessary, can remain submerged for long periods of time — sometimes up to 25 minutes! Asian water dragons typically reach lengths of 3 feet (1 meter), with the tail accounting for nearly 70 percent of its body length. Females tend to be slightly smaller than males.
Large adult Water Dragons will appear confident and friendly however they should not be approached as they have very sharp claws and can deliver a serious bite.
Introducing the world's largest species of lizard, right here at Australia Zoo – the incredible Komodo dragon!
Dragon Lizards are some of the most popular sightings in Australia, with most living in dry areas and active during the day. The Frilled Lizard is renowned for its spectacular display of its frill and tendancy to run using only two hind legs, especially when threatened.
The Monaro grassland earless dragon (Tympanocryptis osbornei or 'Osborne's hidden ear dragon') is one of Australia's rarest reptiles. It is small, weighing between six and nine grams, and has a very short lifespan. It lays only three to six eggs once a year, just under the ground where the sun can warm them.
Water Dragons can sleep in the water, with just their nostrils protruding. In cold weather before they go into their winter dormancy (hibernation), sleeping in the water overnight, is actually warmer than sleeping in the open. Water Dragons can eat underwater.
Australian water dragons are perfectly friendly to humans if you're gentle. However, that docile behavior isn't extended towards other water dragons. These creatures are known to be a bit territorial (this is especially true with males).
Chinese water dragons are among one of the friendliest lizards out there—friendlier even than iguanas. They enjoy being handled and actually require regular handling to prevent them from becoming aggressive. If a Chinese water dragon feels threatened or is scared, it may lash out by biting and whipping its tail.
The Gippsland males have a brightly coloured throat, whilst the Eastern Water Dragons have a dark band from eye to ear. Water dragons are omnivorous, eating both plants and animals. They generally feed on insects, frogs, yabbies, aquatic organisms, fruits, berries, and flowers.
Water dragons eat both plants and animals, especially fruits, flowers, insects, frogs, yabbies and other aquatic organisms. If you see a water dragon, please respect their space and habitat and never try to touch or feed them.
Australian water dragons are omnivorous meaning that they can eat a varied diet of vegetation, insects and meat. Though they can eat vegetation we only provide a small dish of leafy greens as this species is normally far more focussed on insects and meat.
Water dragons should be regularly fed large insects such as woodies, crickets and mealworms. A lean, salt and fat reduced (less than 1.5%) dog food (not fish) can also be mixed in with vegetables, calcium supplements and vitamin supplements to form a staple part of their diet.
The good news is that Chinese water dragons are known for being friendly with humans. If you do have trouble getting your dragon to be sociable, work on handling the dragon each day, but also give it time to rest in its habitat.
The female Water Dragons lack the bright colourations on the chest and throat, and have narrower, more delicate heads. The male Water Dragon's head is much larger and angular. In the Botanic Gardens we have Gippsland Water Dragons, lacking the dark stripe from ear to eye. This is a male.
Feeding frequency is daily for juveniles and every 2-3 days for adults. Remember — if the enclosure temperature is not right your dragon may refuse to eat, or not be able to digest its food properly. All dragons are insect-eaters and should be offered a selection of live crickets, silkworms and mealworms.
Eastern Water Dragons love:
A safe place to hide – usually in gaps between rocks or bricks, a wood pile, or in a clay pipe. Food – especially insects, frogs, yabbies and water insects. Overhanging plants – which provide safe haven around a pool, pond or creek and protection from predators.
Because water dragons like to climb, they appreciate high walls of 4 to 6 feet. An ideal enclosure for a 3 foot adult would be roughly 6'W x 2'D x 5'H. Water dragons can be kept together. Males tend to get along better with each other than females.
HOUSING YOUR WATER DRAGON
Chinese Water Dragons require a large arboreal enclosure so that they can run and jump around as they would in the wild. They require high humidity so a forest style, humidity holding substrate like forest floor or repti-bark would be ideal.
Egg laying: Water Dragons being a reptile, lay eggs (oviparous). The clutch of eggs range between 6 to 18 eggs, with a mean of 9 eggs.
Water dragons are diurnal lizards, meaning they are active during the day and sleep at night. The lights, therefore, need to go off at night. For this reason, a lightless heat source, such as a ceramic heat emitter for day and night heating might also prove beneficial.
The most popular Australian reptiles to keep are the Blue-tongue Lizard, Tiliqua scincoides, and the Central Bearded Dragon, Pogona vitticeps, both of which are interesting and easy to care for.
While they are called blue tongue lizards in Australia, in the United States we call them blue-tongued skinks.
Megalania prisca, the largest terrestrial lizard known, was a giant goanna (monitor lizard). First described from the Darling Downs in Queensland by Sir Richard Owen in 1859, Megalania lived in a variety of eastern Australian Pleistocene habitats - open forests, woodlands and perhaps grasslands.